South Korea is an aging country where about 30 percent of the population would consist of people aged 75 years and older by 2073. The aging society is accelerated by declining fertility rate that stood at 0.78 babies per couple in 2022.
According to data released by Statistics Korea and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on December 18, the average number of employed people per month aged 60 or older between January and November in 2023 was about 6,247,000. The figure was slightly lower than the count of registered workers in their 40s, which stood at 6,262,000. The number of new businesses founded by entrepreneurs aged 60 and above during the first nine months in 2023 reached 105,000, up 5.3 percent from a year ago. These statistics exclude real estate businesses.
The state statistical information service operator reported that there were about 4,467,000 working people aged between 60 and 69 years old as of May 2023. Meanwhile, the number of working people in their 20s was 3,833,000. During the last five years, the number of people in their 60s increased by 1,772,000 to reach 5,709,000 due to the baby boomer generation entering the age group.
The employment rate for people in their 60s in the first quarter of 2023 was 59.7 percent. Statistics Korea said the main reason for the elderly in their 60s getting jobs was to earn money for regular expenses. The number of jobless people in 1Q 2023 in their 20s stood at 357,000, up 11.2 percent compared to the same period last year.
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